2022 Catalogue Archive

Cuban artist Glenda Leon grew up during Fidel Castro’s regime, and the effect on her homeland is felt in the artist’s conceptual work. In a series of works began in 2012, she maps the molecular structure of illegal drugs as constellations in the sky, treating them as neutral, naturally occurring bodies in space. As the title of this work poetically suggests, Leon questions why certain substances are forbidden – and, thereby, who makes the laws – when all coexist in the universe and are made of similar elements. Leon lives and works in Madrid and Havana, and her work has been shown extensively at Biennials and institutions all over the world. Select solo exhibitions include MARCO de Vigo, Pontevedra; MEIAC, Badajoz; Metropolitan Museum of Manila, The Philippines, and her work is in the permanent collections of the Centre George Pompidou, Paris; PAMM, Miami; The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; National Museum of Fine Arts, Havana; Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, Montreal; and Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.